I turn the tables on News 12’s Antoinette Biordi and interview her

I am sure everyone knows about their local news station — it keeps us informed with what is going on in our own town. Our local news informs us about weather, traffic and interesting stories that are all happening right here directly around us. I am fortunate enough to be related to reporter Antoinette Biordi at News 12 Long Island. Antoinette invited me to come down to the station to interview her as well as watch a live broadcast. I had prepared some questions for her.

What got you interested in working in the reporting field?

When I was about 8 years old, I loved to write and make up stories. I did not know how to speak English when I first went to school so I had to read and read, which helped me learn to speak English. By reading so much, the teachers would make me write a lot, so I thought why not write a lot of what I wanted to write about? I started to make up stories and write about them the same way they did in all the books I read. I thought, “I can write for a newspaper, radio program or television!” A television reporter came to mind. When I got to college I majored in telecommunications and developed a love for being in front of the camera.

What is your favorite part of being a reporter?

I like the surprise of coming into work every day and not knowing what stories I am going to cover. I learn so much about people and everything going on in our community. I also love getting to meet and talk to different people every day and getting to know them and what their life is about.

Do you ever get nervous when you know you’re going live?

I used to when I first started, but now I am more confident and I feel I know what I am talking about and make sure I know the story inside and out. After 18 years total of working in the reporting field, I feel I am 100 percent confident.

Do you have a favorite story that you covered?

My favorite story has to be “Morgan.” Morgan is an 8-year-old girl who was a completely healthy little girl who happened to be a twin. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor and in need of emergency surgery. She was found to have brain cancer and almost lost her battle several times. She experienced seizures and multiple surgeries and survived, which was miraculous in itself. BethAnn, a woman she met in the hospital who also had brain cancer, decided after she got well herself she would run a marathon in honor of Morgan. I was able to interview both Morgan and BethAnn and do a story on them. Morgan designed a pair of sneakers for BethAnn to run in. She put wings on the backs and told her those would make her fly. It was one of the most heartwarming stories I had the pleasure of working on.